Volunteers from St. Marcellus Church on Avery Island Road donate time each week to serve lunches at St. Francis Diner.

“Those two are new,” said Juanita Lewis, the long-time executive director of St. Francis Diner on Hopkins Street as she nodded toward people lining up for what may be their only meal that day. “I see more and more new faces every day.”

St. Francis Diner is one of nine agencies in Iberia Parish featured in this year’s Help the Helpers, a campaign spearheaded by The Daily Iberian to encourage giving to local groups that help the needy all year round.

As the only facility regularly serving daily meals to the homeless and disadvantaged population in New Iberia, the diner is well known to that demographic. As the 11:30 a.m. serving time nears, a small crowd gathers near the front door, waiting for the diner to open.

Lewis has served with St. Francis Diner for 18 years. She said she has seen the faces come and go but many stay, mired in a cycle that prevents them from moving beyond the need for the diner’s services.

St. Francis Diner board president Richard Guidry agreed.

“They can’t move past it,” Lewis said. “They become comfortable with living at this level, with not having any expectations.”

Guidry also said some of the people he sees walking past the diner are afraid to acknowledge that they need help.

“There was one woman who I would see walk past every day,” Guidry said. “We found out later she was living in a cardboard box around the corner. But she didn’t ask for help. Pride gets in the way.”

As the economy along the Gulf of Mexico oil belt has continued to struggle, the resources of the diner and other agencies providing services to the homeless population have been stretched thin. St. Francis Diner is funded primarily through donations, with an annual FEMA grant providing some cash for food purchases only.

The diner serves about 250 people a day, Monday through Saturday. With that sort of traffic, it is a challenge to keep everything working — especially on a shoestring budget. Any repairs or maintenance to the facility, as well as funding for the four full-time employees who work with Lewis, come from whatever monetary donations are received from local businesses, governments or individuals.

An example of the unforeseen challenges the diner faces came over the summer, when a deep freezer failed. In addition to the cost of fixing the unit, the diner also lost several thousand dollars in food donations.

Even after the repair, Lewis said she doesn’t know how long the freezer will continue to operate. The diner’s board is in the process of finding a replacement, which will cost money. And, as fate would have it, the holiday season is when St. Francis Diner sees its biggest demand, even as contributions lag.

Another challenge is security for the facility. Lewis herself was the victim of a vehicle break-in recently when her car was parked at the diner.

“I stopped in to make sure we were ready for the next day,” Lewis said. “My car was right there in front.”

Funding for security, however, is not yet forthcoming. There are volunteers who help feed each day, usually from local churches or businesses which adopt a day to staff the serving line, but hiring security officers costs money.

“This is our slow period for donations,” Lewis said. “Monetary donations are what we need most. Monetary donations and prayers for everything to keep surviving, to make sure we can continue to feed the people who need it.”

Cash or check donations for Help the Helpers can be brought to The Daily Iberian office at the corner of Main and Lewis streets or mailed to Help the Helpers at The Daily Iberian, P.O. Box 9290, New Iberia, LA 70562. Checks should be made to Help the Helpers.

Contributions can be marked for a specific participating Help the Helpers organization or can be divided among all nine. 

Donors’ names will be published by the newspaper in an Honor Roll listing.